Last week, I made sweet potatoes for dinner to go with chicken and had some leftovers. The sweet potatoes sat in the fridge over the weekend, but I was inspired to make something different with them today.
Yesterday, Marty smoked a brisket, but we didn’t eat it since our friend Martin, a chef, invited us for dinner. We always say yes to his dinners and eat what we had planned for the next day. Today was that day.
It’s a no-brainer that sweet potatoes and brisket go together, but I didn’t want to reserve the leftover candied sweet potatoes as is. I made sweet potato gnocchi sautéed in brown butter and fresh sage.
Gnocchi is easy to make and doesn’t require fancy skills or equipment. I make regular potato gnocchi often in the winter, but this was my first time using sweet potatoes. It was easier if that’s possible.
From start to finish, I made the gnocchi in under 30 minutes, then just sautéed them right before dinner, getting them slightly crispy. Yum!
I made coleslaw to go with the brisket for Marty and Sam, but I wanted creamed spinach since I had fresh baby spinach in the refrigerator. I made the creamed spinach healthier using my lactose-free milk instead of cream.
I used to follow a recipe for this dish, but the last time I made it, Marty didn’t like it. I probably used frozen spinach, which sometimes tastes bitter, so I don’t use it anymore.
I am a million times better cook than I was ten years ago and created my own creamed spinach recipe. It had lots of flavor and was creamy and delicious. It was a hit!
Marty has his smoked brisket down to a science now. It’s easy for him to get it done consistently now and not a crap-shoot on how it will turn out. That’s almost two years of practice. Barbequing meats is not grilling or cooking; it’s a beast all of its own.
Here is a basic recipe for sweet potato gnocchi. The gal Sarah who wrote the recipe, does an excellent job explaining how to make gnocchi; her recipe is easy to follow. Why reinvent the wheel?
I found this recipe for the creamed spinach that was pretty damn close to how I made mine. Here’s what I did differently. I melted 2 Tbsp butter instead of the olive oil and didn’t add more butter. 8 Tbsp is not necessary, definitely not on a Monday night. Lol.
I added 3 cloves of garlic to my recipe. I sautéed the onions and garlic in the butter. After they were soft, I sprinkled potato starch instead of regular flour to make them gluten-free.
I didn’t cook the spinach beforehand; I added it to the milk mixture and wilted it that way—a pro kitchen move since you don’t want more steps.
I added more spices than the recipe suggested; 1/2 tsp of paprika, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, and 1/4 old bay. I tasted and checked the salt and spices while they cooked and adjusted them as needed.
It’s fall cooking weather! Even though summer is my favorite season, I love fall and winter cooking, braising, and baking. I’ve been searching through new recipes I want to try this year and will share them with you after I make them.
We didn’t work in the production kitchen today; we had too many outdoor projects to be done before the leaves start dropping like sons-of-bitches.
We closed the pool, and I severely pruned my hydrangeas since they were out of control! I cut back the lilies and transplanted a couple of them to an area where they had more room to grow.
We decided not to go full fall foliage on the front porch this year, part of it is laziness, and the other part is the lack of time fussing over mums. I will decorate inside the house since that’s a one-and-done kind of deal.
I hope you had a non-sucky Monday and Mother Nature didn’t keep changing her mind every twenty minutes between sunshine and dark threatening skies and storms like it did here. Have a great night!